July 9 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealanders spent $3.6 billion online in 2017, an increase of 13 percent over the previous year, as shoppers in the Gisborne region recorded the fastest growth, while those in Taranaki proved the biggest spenders per transaction, …Kiwi online spending grew 13 percent to $3.6 billion last year: NZ Post report

By Margreet Dietz

July 9 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealanders spent $3.6 billion online in 2017, an increase of 13 percent over the previous year, as shoppers in the Gisborne region recorded the fastest growth, while those in Taranaki proved the biggest spenders per transaction, according to a report commissioned by the national post service.

Online shopping now accounts for 8.1 percent of all retail spending in New Zealand, according to the 2018 New Zealand eCommerce Review. The report, commissioned by New Zealand Post in partnership with data analytics provider Datamine, used anonymised card transactions over the 2016 and 2017 calendar years.

The 23 percent jump in the number of online transactions last year showed Kiwis are buying smaller value items and shopping online more regularly, according to the report.

For New Zealand retailers, an increase in online sales of 9 percent far outstripped growth of less than 1 percent in bricks and mortar sales, the report noted.

New Zealanders are also increasingly shopping online with overseas companies, boosting offshore transactions 37 percent while spending increased by 23 percent from the previous year.

When it comes to regional habits, spending by online shoppers grew the fastest in the Gisborne region in 2017, with a 19 percent increase to $30 million, according to the report. Taranaki shoppers on average spent the most per transaction, at $124.50, while the fastest-growing number of transactions were seen in Northland, with a 36 percent increase last year.

The average online shopper spends more than $2,350 online each year, with rural online shoppers now the largest spenders, each spending more than $2,500 online in 2017, NZ Post chief marketing officer Bryan Dobson said in the report.

“People are shopping more often, and more often with overseas companies, for smaller amounts,” Dobson said. “This shows that Kiwis feel comfortable buying smaller value items more regularly online, and are really embracing shopping online for more everyday items.”

Habits vary by gender, according to the report.

“The report shows New Zealand women shop online more frequently than men, with an average of 23 online transactions per year, but men are spending more each time they shop online, almost $40 more per transaction,” Dobson said. “And it may surprise people that men are spending about twice as much as women per transaction in the health and beauty category.”

Last year NZ Post processed and delivered over 70 million parcels to New Zealand addresses or to international destinations, and this number is only rising, according to Dobson.